


skin deep

by avapacifica



Series: October Writing Challenge 2020 [24]
Category: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Crying, Doubt, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Gore, Heavy Angst, Hurt, Killing, Psychological Torture, Self-Doubt, Serial Killers, Sick Character, Torture, Violence, nubbins is alive simply because i wanted him to be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27179896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avapacifica/pseuds/avapacifica
Summary: Stretch is willing to put up with a lot to stay with Bubba. Debatably too much.
Relationships: Vanita "Stretch" Brock/Leatherface | Bubba "Junior" Sawyer
Series: October Writing Challenge 2020 [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948126
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	skin deep

**Author's Note:**

> Day 24: Torture

Stretch doesn’t think Bubba realizes how much his actions affect her, or how living with his family makes her absolutely sick most days. She stays because she loves him, and that’s worth everything, but some days she finds herself questioning the choices that led her here. 

She has to eat people, that’s a requirement. Stretch wouldn’t be a part of the family if she didn’t, Bubba’s brother made her sure of that. She suffers through, for him, which she’s been doing a lot of lately. (Bubba does makes sacrifices for her, and stands up to his brothers when they’re being ridiculous, so it’s not as if she’s the only one offering anything to their relationship.) 

Stretch doesn’t enjoy eating human meat at all though. It helps to imagine it’s something else, even imaging a living animal in her mind, but not much. She knows the true contents of whatever Drayton cooks up, just as the rest of them do. There’s no changing it. 

In the beginning she’d sneak candy while she was out doing errands. Now she’d kill for fruits or vegetables. On the rare occasion she brings food back to the house, she has to hide it well. If Bubba sees it, he won’t say anything. His brothers on the other hand, are a different story. If Drayton were to find anything, it would go straight in the trash. Chop Top and Nubbins would just take it for themselves. Stretch does enjoy the times when she can share something she picked up from the market with Bubba though, he loves trying new things.

She’s expected to kill, if the situation arises. If Stretch doesn’t contribute, why should she get to benefit from everything the household provides? She’s only had to do so once. A guy came in, and he had trusted her. Why wouldn’t he? She was the most sane looking of the bunch. He figured she was a prisoner here. In some regards that would be true. She’s sure she wouldn’t survive if she tried to leave. But she doesn’t want to either. Stretch is in a weird place between being mistreated, and doing it voluntarily. 

Back to the man, (she never really learned his name) who got too far into their home. It wasn’t like one of their normal dinner guests, in that they didn’t control when they came and when they died. Stretch was forced to act on impulse. She led him down corridors that she claimed were towards the exit, but it was really just her version of putting off what she knew she needed to do. After some time, they reached a dead end, as you do when you’re wandering around that long. Before he had time to question her, the deed was done. 

She was unofficially accepted that night. Most of the doubt the other three Sawyer brothers held to her was gone. They still had some, but nearly as much as they did before she killed for them. That bit of the evening was pleasant, the rest not so much. Lots of puke was involved. That’s what usually happened after she ate with them, but this time it went on for hours. She couldn’t even force down the game she hunted. Drayton wasn’t bothered, as it was a special occasion.

It’s easier to partake in the cannibal families lifestyle when she’s with Bubba. It’s not enjoyable at all, no. However it is certainly better than luring people there, or cooking them. Being with Bubba in his workshop is certainly the goriest job among the brothers, but he makes it seem less so, just by the works of his personality.

He’ll be cutting up bodies, and she’ll be reading. It’s nice for the both of them to be in each other's presences. Stretch doesn’t read because she enjoys anything the Sawyer household has to offer, it’s mostly to keep her eyes off what’s in front of her. Hearing is enough. She tried reading to Bubba once while he worked, but it only distracted him. Now she only does so at night, when they’re in bed and all their chores are done. 

It’s not as if Bubba forces Stretch to participate. She does find it hard though, when he asks her to help. He means well, he wants her to have as much fun as he is. His worldview is so skewed though, he can’t see the wrong in what he’s doing. He can’t imagine a reason Vanita wouldn’t want to engage. 

It’s easier to work with the bodies when their faces have already been peeled off. Luckily, that’s usually Bubba’s first step. It helps her to feel like they weren’t people, they didn’t have personalities. He guides her hands, it’s basically him doing the cutting. It still eats away at her though. 

So yes, Bubba is great, and she thinks maybe one day she’ll be able to teach him to leave. Until they get to that level though, (and she isn’t sure they ever will, he’s a family man if she’s ever seen one) she has to endure his brothers. The way they talk to Stretch is borderline abuse, and she even knows it. Drayton is degrading, and the twins are constantly making sexual remarks about her. That never happens when Bubba is around, hence her being by his side all the time. 

Going out is a vicious cycle. They trust her enough to go to stores when they have the occasional need for things. The whole time she’s there she wants to break out in screams, tell everyone around her that there’s a family of vicious murderers in their midst. But that would mean losing the person she loves most in the world, and with the mental damage she now houses because of his family, she thinks she’d end up right in the ward next to him if she couldn’t be with him. Maybe that’s for the best, at least no one else would get hurt. For now, she stays silent.

She doesn’t get physically sad or angry anymore, Stretch has taught herself to bottle those up. Any hint of negative emotions will make Bubba upset, or the rest of his brothers suspicious. But no matter who sees, it always means a bad time on her part. If she  _ really  _ needs to cry, she’ll plan out nights to do so. It’ll usually be a Saturday night, so that she can sleep in the next morning. She’ll wait until around two in the morning, when even the twins have passed out. She’ll go to the bathroom, and just sob. It’s an overwhelming relief, to be able to get those feelings out in any form.

Stretch is desensitized to a point she never thought she’d reach, even when she realized she was going to stay with Bubba, that he was her future. It disturbs her most nights, the nightmares never stop. But when she wakes up, he’s by her side to remind her of why it’s all worth it. It’s easier to sleep when she’s pressed completely against him, letting his warmth remind her even in unconsciousness that he’s there to protect her. 

That’s not to say there aren’t good times. She loves going to chilli competitions with Drayton, playing radio host with Chop Top, accepting gifts from Nubbins, and every bit of affection that Bubba showers on her. How could a family, who gets involved in all of these ‘normal people’ activities, be such monsters at times? Stretch isn’t sure of the logistics of it, and she’s quite aware of the abuse she suffers. But she stays for the moments like those, where she can be happy amongst them.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope this isn’t all over the place haha. kudos and comments are always appreciated, feedback makes my day!


End file.
